Take The Rangers By Storm
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows Shiba Homecoming - Storm's gotten herself in a bit of a mess. She slipped and fell into a pool of Sanzu Water and now can't tell the Samurai there's something wrong with her. Then there's a break in and Storm disappears, and the Samurai's only hope of finding her is Emily and a story about a werewolf.
1. Sick As A Dog

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

Kevin and Mia were out on a date. James had taken Terran to a playgroup he had signed him up for called Daddy and Me. It had been a special group for kids to play around and make new friends, as well as a support group for single fathers, which when James had signed up for the group, he had been a single father.

Jayden and Antonio were also on a date, but unlike Mia and Kevin, who had gone into town, they were in the forest by the stream, fishing up dinner for that night. Jayden still wasn't much of a fisherman, but loved the alone time with Antonio, and loved to see his boyfriend so happy.

Ji and Kate were also out. They refused to call their lunch a date, but the entire house was already convinced they would be in a loving relationship soon, and forced the title. Ji had simply rolled his eyes and ignored the young Samurai, like usual, and Kate chuckled.

Mike was in his room with his headphones on. After a long morning training, he had chosen to unwind by playing some of the new video games Ji's friends had left him after his old ones had been destroyed in the disaster that took the Shiba House. He was having the time of his life, and could barely hear anything beyond the game's sound effects (which were loud and they were the reason he had to wear the headphones).

Serena was taking a nap. Terran had decided not to let either of his parents get any sleep the night before, so Serena was catching up now that he was out of the house. With her down and out, Mike in his own little world, and everyone else out of the house, Emily had the entire house to herself.

Or, almost. There was still Storm, whom Emily hadn't seen much of in the last couple of days. Normally she took time out of her busy day to play with the dog or walk her, but getting back into a normal routine, finally, hadn't been the smooth transition she had hoped for, and Storm ended up being slightly neglected. Emily wanted to make up for it today by spending the afternoon with her.

But first she needed to find her. With the bag of dog treats in her hand, she started to walk around the house. She searched all of Storm's favourite hiding places first, but couldn't find her little dog. She shook the bag and knew that if Storm could hear it, she would come running.

But there was no dog. Emily started to get worried, but she hadn't searched every room yet and Storm had a tendency of getting herself into trouble when left unattended for too long. As Emily approached the laundry room, a place Storm rarely ever ventured, she heard some whimpering from the cage. It was Storm's cage, basically her second bed. It was covered in a blanket for privacy and Storm had a tendency of hiding in her cage when she was feeling scared or sick, or when she just needed to get away from the Samurai. Storm was a very independent dog, and as much as she loved playing around with her human friends, she needed time to herself, and a place to herself. Not surprisingly, in a house full of young adults, the laundry room was the room that was used the least, and its schedule never coincided with the times Storm needed to be alone.

Emily approached the cage and looked inside. Storm lay on her side and looked sick as… well, a dog. She was panting loudly, seemed very tired, and looked thinner, like she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. Emily couldn't remember the last time she had filled her dog's bowl, but was certain someone had done it. With nine people able to pour food into the dog bowl, feeding Storm was a chore that was always done. Sometimes, it was even overdone.

Hoping maybe treats would cheer her dog up, Emily pulled a few out from the bag and held them out. Storm didn't move, like she had no idea Emily, her favourite of all the Samurai, was holding out her favourite treats. Emily inched in closer to the cage. It was a bad idea already when the dog was feeling fine, but if Storm was sick it was dangerous. Though she knew better than to bite or snap or be aggressive with any of her human friends, when she was sick or hurt, she played fast and loose with those rules and reminded the Samurai to back off by biting at their hands or ankles. It was never serious, but it still hurt like hell. Storm had very sharp teeth and she knew how to use them well.

But Storm didn't react at all. Dropping the bag of treats, Emily scooped her limp dog up in her arms, crawled backwards out of the cage and rushed to her room.

"Mike!" she called for her husband but he was too busy with his video games to notice, and his headphones meant he couldn't hear her. She tried to step in front of him, but he leaned to the side, choosing the TV over her. Emily normally wouldn't care during video game time, but this was serious. Her arms were full with Storm, so Emily kicked her foot up, knocking the controller right out of his hand.

"Emily!" he ripped off his earphones, "I was only going to play for another hour! You couldn't have waited…?"

"Storm's sick," Emily whispered. Mike looked down at the dog, seeing she did not look well at all. Forgetting about his game entirely, he placed his hand on Emily's back and guided her to the bed.

"How long has she been like this?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders and hugged her dog, "I don't know. I haven't seen her around much lately. I… I tried to make up for it but… I f-found her like… like this."

"Should we take her to the vet?" Mike asked. "She looks really, really bad, Em."

"I know."

Mike kissed the side of her head and got up, "I'll wake up Serena and we'll get the van set up for the trip. You make Storm comfortable, okay?"

Emily nodded her head and followed Mike until she reached the common room. There, she set Storm down in her bed and started to collect a few of Storm's favourite things, just in case when they got to the vet Storm would stay the night. Emily didn't want her dog feeling scared and lonely, and thought a few toys would help remind her of home.

After waking Serena up, Mike went to the laundry room to get the cage. Normally when he took Storm to the vet, a leash was enough to get her there, and Emily's arms would keep her calm and out of trouble, but given how sick the dog looked, the cage was best. He carried it down the hall and then out the door, and Serena went to help him get it into the van, picking up the toys Emily had taken out for Storm.

Wanting the cage to be as comfortable as possible, Emily left the common room for just a moment to grab the pillow case from her bed. She had slept on it for long enough now for it to carry her scent, and she was sure that would reassure Storm that she would be well looked after. As she pulled the pillow out from the casing, she heard her door slide open a little wider. Thinking it was Serena or Mike, Emily continued to work on her stubborn pillow.

"Can you go get Storm's blanket from her bed. She'll want that with her too," Emily whispered. There was no reply, but footsteps continued to approach her. Emily groaned and started to turn around, "You can hug me later, we need to take care of…"

She was cut off as a giant, fluffy, she wasn't sure what, covered her face and wrapped around her head. Then she was forced back until she hit the wall, and whatever had grabbed her slammed her several times against the hard surface. Emily would have screamed for help, but whatever was covering her face prevented her from doing so, and would have muffled her cries anyways.

Reaching out with her hands, she grabbed the thing holding her face, but by that time had no strength left in her body and she could feel herself losing consciousness. If her face hadn't been covered, she was sure she would have been seeing huge spots by now.

Suddenly, whatever was holding her head let go. Emily fell forward, first landing on her knees, and then hitting the ground. She had been right about the spots, but looked up and tried to see through them to see what had attacked her. Inside the house, she should have been safe from anything that would want to hurt her, especially monsters that were big enough to grab her face. Before she blacked out completely, she saw a large, werewolf-like creature like the ones from Mike's video games, only instead of gray or black fur, this one was somewhat red, almost the same colour as Storm's fur. Emily's eyes widened. She tried to push herself up to get a better look but blacked out before she could.

Just after she hit the ground again, the creature's body was covered in symbols. They were the protective symbols that kept the house safe from the Nighlok and anything else that was connected to the Netherworld. The creature swung at the symbols and tried to rip them off, but they were everywhere and took over, covering every inch just like the fur. Suddenly, they expelled the creature from the house, shooting it through the walls, without causing damage to the house.

They shot the creature over the gate, capturing both Mike and Serena in awe in terror. Suddenly, their Samuraizers went off and they could hear the Gap Sensor blaring loudly for a few moments, before it shut itself off. Looking to each other in a panic, they knew there was still trouble and raced inside to see what was going on.

They checked the map first but there was no Nighlok in sight. Looking back in time only a few seconds, they saw a Nighlok had, in fact, triggered the Sensor, and they had done so from inside the house.

"Emily?" Mike called and started to look around for her. Serena turned her attention to Storm's bed, seeing it was empty.

"Storm?" she hadn't gotten a good look at the state of the dog just yet, but based on what Mike had told her while loading up the car, she could tell it was bad enough to keep Storm down. If she wasn't where Emily had left her, something very bad must have happened, either forcing her to get up and run, or taking her from her bed.

Neither were good.

"Storm!" Serena called again and whistled.

Mike was already halfway down the hall to his room. He saw the door was opened wide and Emily was on the floor. He raced over to her and rolled her on her back. She wasn't waking up, even when he started to shake her.

"Don't touch her, you idiot!" Serena yelled at him and pulled him away, "You'll make it worst!"

"But she's…"

"I have eyes. I see exactly what happened," Serena said. She had a look at her sister and then gestured to Mike that it was safe to come back, "Help me get her up on the bed."

Doing as he was told, Mike carefully lifted Emily, doing all he could not to move her around too much. Very, very gently, he and Serena set her onto the bed and Serena started to look her over.

"What about Storm?" he asked, putting the device to his ear he waited for his mentor to pick up.

"She's gone," Serena whispered.

Mike furrowed his brow, "She's gone? Serena, she can't be gone. She couldn't even lift her paw, never mind leave."

"Then someone took her," Serena shrugged and moved her inspection up to Emily's head. If her sister was unconscious, surely her head had taken even just a bit of a beating.

"Someone breaks into the house, while we're in front of the only entrance, assaults Emily, but leaves with a sick dog?"

"Mike…" Serena very gently rolled Emily on her side, exposing the back of her head to Mike, where blood had already stained her hair and her pillow. Serena brushed her hair out of the way and saw cuts, two on each side of her head, which were the cause of the bleeding.

"Holy…"

"They aren't deep. Cuts on the head bleed quite a bit. Whatever caused this didn't try to cut her," Serena said. She brushed a little more of Emily's hair out of the way, "This is what worries me."

Mike couldn't see anything and shrugged. Serena sighed.

"Bruises. Big, round bruises. It's like something got her head.

Mike looked at his hands. They weren't huge, but they were about average size for most men. Being careful not to actually grab Emily's head and hurt her, he placed his hand on the back of her head. Serena shook her head, slowly lowered her sister on her back again, and moved Mike's hand so he was grabbing the front of her face.

"Nighlok."

"Are you sure?" Mike asked, though there was very little doubt, except for one detail that could prove Serena wrong, "The symbols…"

"I don't know," Serena shook her head, "but who do you know that's big enough to wrap a hand around someone's head?"

"Two hands…?"

"There's only four scratches."

"But the symbols…"

"That thing!" Serena cried out suddenly, "right before the Gap Sensor went off it flew right by us, remember?"

"In the sky," Mike's eyes widened. He took Emily's hand, "How did a Nighlok get in the house? Why did it go after Emily?"

"Why did it take Storm?" Serena asked. "What could the Nighlok want with Storm?"

"Anyone still home?" Ji's voice called from the front door, announcing he and Kate were home from their _"date"_. "We brought some extra dessert!"

"Ji's trying to bribe you all into agreeing this wasn't a date!" Kate called out for clarification, and there was a less-than-subtle laugh in her voice, "Despite the fact that we did share…"

"It's cookies!" Ji called again, hoping that if Emily was home she would dart over fast enough to distract Kate.

In the bedroom, Serena put her hand on Mike's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before she walked out of the room. She met up with Ji and Kate and was unable to hide the worried look on her face. Ji and Kate were instantly concerned.

"A Nighlok got in the house."

Ji didn't look like he believed Serena at first, but she had no reason to lie about this. Kate wrapped her arms around Serena and held her close, "Are you okay?"

"Mike and I were loading up the van. We were going to go with Emily to take Storm to the vet."

"Why?"

"She was sick," Serena sighed, "but now she's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Ji asked and Kate gave Serena a comforting squeeze.

"Physically gone," Serena answered, "and instead of a vet, we might need a doctor."

"Why? Ji asked but Kate didn't need to hear anymore. She let go of Serena and raced down the hall, looking for Emily. Knowing only Serena, Mike, and Emily were home, and knowing Serena was fine, Kate could easily assume Emily was either hurt, or looking over her injured husband. Neither of which sat well with Kate.

Ji put his hands on Serena's shoulders, "You mentioned a Nighlok."

"The Gap Sensor went off for a second," Serena nodded, "Something flew by Mike and I. We came inside and Storm was gone, and Emily had been attacked. "

"Are you okay?"

"I want to figure out what could have gotten in, how it got in, what it did to my sister, and why, of all things, it took Storm."

"Stay within the Gates until the others come home," Ji told her. Serena nodded and then showed him to Emily's room.


	2. Werewolves

Their Samuraizers going off, even for just a second, had been enough to bring all the Rangers home to see what was going on. When they got home, mostly all at the same time, they noticed something off about the house. Turning into the common room, Serena and Mike were studying the map. Assuming they knew what had happened with the Sensors because they had been home, the Samurai asked the white and green Rangers what happened.

Serena and Mike explained what they knew. How they saw something fly out of the house only seconds before the Sensor went off. Before they could investigate any of that, they came inside to discover their yellow Ranger unconscious and their dog missing.

"How is Emily?" Antonio was the first to ask. Serena breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, her head is hard as rock. We won't know until she wakes up, but Ji seems to think it's nothing too serious."

"But the dog's gone?" Mia asked. It was a strange question, because it was a strange occurrence. She knew the Nighlok wanted to attack the Rangers and cause them pain and misery, but if one could get inside the house, Mia couldn't imagine it would leave with just a dog. The Nighlok could have easily wiped out three Samurai; basically half the team.

"Did she run off?" Kevin suggested. Mike shook his head sadly.

"Storm's sick. She can barely move," he pointed out the window to the van, "We were just getting ready to take her to the vet when all this happened."

"So, the Nighlok got into the Shiba House, and all he took was a sick dog? Nothing else is missing? No one's dead?" Mia asked, hoping she was speaking the truth, but at the same time that would only complicate this mystery. "So then what the hell is going on?"

"Emily will know," Jayden glanced down the hallway, "When she wakes up, she'll tell us."

-Samurai-

In Emily's bedroom, Ji was doing the best he could to make Emily comfortable. He could tell whatever had attacked her had taken her head and bashed it into the wall, which meant he would have to keep his eye on her for the next little while in case of serious brain injury, but from what he could tell now, she would be fine. It all depended on what state she was in once she woke up.

"If she wakes up," Kate repeated again and again and paced around like a worried mother. Ji really couldn't blame her for being so concerned. When he had asked her to take up the role of protector, he knew she would have to bond with the family. It was impossible not to. What he hadn't expected was that she would get so close with the girls. Serena and Emily were on a first name basis with her, and when they had to call her something other than Kate, she was, without any doubt, their aunt.

"She will be fine," Ji promised. "She is strong. She'll pull through."

Like she had been waiting for the right moment, Emily started to stir and her eyes fluttered open. Ji was instantly checking her over once again. He knew he was frustrating the very confused young Ranger, but he needed to make sure she was okay. When he was finished with the physical, certain it was nothing more than a concussion, he tried the mental.

"Do you remember the date?"

"Thursday?"

"Anything more?"

"September?"

"Is that a guess?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders and looked around the room. She breathed in a sigh. Ji could tell she wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

"Mike found you on the floor," he explained, "We examined your head, and it seems you hit it against something. Do you remember that?"

"Where is Mike?" Emily asked.

"He will be in in a moment," Ji assured her. "For now…"

"I want Mike."

"He is right outside, Emily. Before I go get him I…"

"I want Mike!" she sat up, grabbed her pillow and launched it at Ji, smacking him right in the face.

"Emily," Mike called to her as Kate led him into the room. Emily seemed to calm almost instantly when she heard his voice. He came over to her and she threw her arms around his neck. Mike hugged her close, "It's okay, Em. We just want to know what happened."

"I don't know," Emily whispered into his ear as she tried to search her brain for the missing piece in time. She knew something had happened, and she believed Ji's story about being hit in the head. She just couldn't see it in her mind. Mike gently rubbed her back.

"Serena and I think it was a Nighlok. Do you remember seeing a Nighlok?"

Emily shook her head. Mike sighed, but he wouldn't give up.

"Okay, Storm was sick," he would run her up to the moment, hoping that would trigger her memory, "Serena and I were getting the car ready. You wanted toys for the cage, just in case Storm stayed the night. Do you remember that?"

"Where is she?"

"Not right now, Emily," he didn't want her to worry about more than one thing at a time, "I need you to focus. What did you do when you were collecting toys? How did you want to make Storm comfortable? What led you into this room?"

Emily took in a few deep breaths while Ji placed the pillow behind her back to support her, "The pillow. I wanted to give her my pillow case!"

"Okay," Mike nodded, "You came in here to get the pillow case. What next?"

"I…" Emily closed her eyes, hoping the darkness could help create images in her mind. She imagined herself with her pillow in her hand. If she wanted to give Storm the pillow case, she would have to remove it from the pillow. She imagined herself shaking it out and then she had heard something. Footsteps; she remembered footsteps. "I turned around."

"Why?"

"Someone was coming."

"The Nighlok," Mike was sure of that. Neither he nor Serena entered the house during the attack. But Emily shook her head.

"It grabbed my face," her eyes were still closed but she couldn't make images anymore. She had her attacker's hand in her face, covering her eyes. "My head hit the wall."

"Yeah," Mike nodded, "Anything else? Do you remember anything after that or did you black out?"

"Fluffy."

"Fluffy?"

"The hand was big. It covered my face."

"Yeah?"

"And the arm was fluffy. Everything was kind of fluffy."

"Okay, so the Nighlok was fluffy."

"No, not a Nighlok," Emily shook her head, "It let me go and I fell. I tried to look, but I saw spots. Lots and lots of spots. It hit me hard."

"You can't describe what got you?" Mike asked. "Nothing more than fluffy?"

"Sorry," Emily whispered. Mike gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"You did great, Em. Maybe you'll remember a little more in a bit."

"It wasn't a Nighlok," Emily told him. "It wasn't. I know it wasn't."

"It's alright. We'll figure out what it is," he promised. "Get some rest, Em. We'll be right outside…"

"Mike."

"Yeah."

"Stay with me."

Mike nodded his head and climbed into bed with her. He shooed Ji and Kate of the room and took Emily into his arms.

"You didn't shave," she whispered. Mike chuckled and touched his face.

"Forgot this morning. I'll shave tomorrow. It shouldn't be too out of control by then. Did you know, in high school, my buddies and I used to see who could go the longest without shaving. By the end, I always looked like all I needed was a full moon to complete my transformation."

"Transformation?"

"Into a werewolf," Mike smirked, "Maybe that'll be my Halloween costume this year. Werewolves don't scare you, right? Just Zombies?"

"Werewolves scare me," Emily whispered. Mike looked down at her.

"Since when?"

"Now," Emily answered and looked up at Mike. He saw there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She hadn't been crying two seconds before. He sat up, still holding her in his arms.

"Emily…?"

"It was big."

"What was?"

"With fangs and claws! And red fur! I remember it had red fur!"

"What did?"

"The werewolf."

"What werewolf?"

"It attacked me!"

"In broad daylight? On a day with no full moon?"

"It was a werewolf!" she nestled deeper into Mike's arms, "A big, scary werewolf."

"Werewolves don't exist," he held her and tried to reassure her but Emily wouldn't have it. She shook her head and cried into his chest. She could see it now. She could see the monster that had attacked her.

Mike always loved monsters and strange creatures, but what he loved most about them was that they weren't real. He could transform any monster into whatever he wanted, because they were all fiction, and there were no real guidelines to follow. Once, in a video game, he had created a vampire/werewolf/zombie combination, where the monster would, obviously, come out at night, attack its victims with its sharp claws, then suck all the blood from their bodies, and finally he would eat their brains. To date, it was the coolest monster he had created, and very badass, if he could say so himself. In his parents' home, he had a ton of printed images of what the monster looked like as well as all the details of his monster. He had even managed to combine the best parts of the vampire, the werewolf, and the zombie to give his monster no weaknesses.

And he could do that because it wasn't real. Even in a world where Nighlok roamed around, causing misery, werewolves were still just fiction.

But the way Emily was sobbing and shaking, and the way she continued to insist she had been attacked by a werewolf, Mike knew she believed it. He cradled her head against his chest and sighed.

"We'll find it," he promised. "Whatever got you, we'll find it."


	3. Hunter Becomes The Hunted

"Werewolf?" Serena asked, shooting Mike a strong look of disbelief as he told her exactly what Emily had shared with him. "My sister thinks a mythical creature got into the house and attacked her?"

"The monster's real to her," Mike nodded his head. He had to agree with Serena, the idea sounded crazy, but if Emily was scared he wanted to comfort her. It really didn't matter to him what he was tracking down as long as he found it.

"But a werewolf?" Serena asked.

"We've seen stranger," Antonio shrugged, "Nighlok do come in all shapes and sizes. I guess as long as we find something wolf-like, we'll know we got the right thing."

"Samurai are crazy," James shrugged and put his hand in the air, "You all know how I feel about dogs. Wolves freak me out even more. At the top of that list: werewolves," he looked to Serena, "Sorry, you're on your own."

Serena rolled her eyes and looked to Mia, "In my fairy tale, I'm the shining knight and he's the fragile princess."

"HEY! One phobia of all things canine does not make me fragile."

"He's still the princess," Serena chuckled and Mia laughed with her.

Kate walked to the map, which Ji was studying to try and find the werewolf monster Emily claimed attacked her, "Anything yet?"

"He disappeared. He must have gone back to the Netherworld."

"Any idea where he'll come back up?" Kate asked and sat down beside Ji, "I really doubt he came all this way for a dog. Something tells me the job's only half done."

"Something tells me this mystery is only half solved," Ji muttered. "Why would a werewolf leave with a dog?"

"Maybe he's lonely and looking for a mate?" Antonio suggested. He was nudged hard in the ribs by Jayden, "Ow! What?"

"Let's just go see if there are any signs of him," Jayden said and got up from his stool, "Ji, James, you two stay behind. Keep an eye on Emily and make sure whatever that thing was, he doesn't come back. The rest of us will go out and search for clues."

As the Rangers followed Jayden's orders, Ji looked to Kate, seeing she had every intention of going with the Rangers. He had a bad feeling. Though she was trained to protect the Samurai she had never once been in battle. If they did run into something, he didn't want her to be over her head.

Kate noticed his concern and smiled, "I'll be fine. You keep an eye on my girl."

"This Samurai stuff is tough business…"

"So was raising me," Serena shrugged, "Kate survived that."

"Your parents survived that only because of me," Kate chuckled. She turned back to Ji, "When Serena was little, I had to fight off the boogeyman with nothing more than the tiny pillow she liked to sleep with. I won."

"Boogeyman never hid under my bed after that beating," Serena nodded and smirked, "Taught him a thing or two about messing with a Samurai and her guardian."

"Just be careful," Ji made Kate promise, "The Samurai life is… unpredictable."

"I'll be careful," she nodded and the Rangers set out. Once the door was closed, James turned to Ji with a wicked grin on his face.

"So…"

"Not a word, Jameson."

"That's not my name."

"It is now, and it will be if you keep up that smirk," Ji got up from his stool, "I'm going to see if Emily remembers anything else."

"C'mon, Ji," James got up to follow him, "For an older woman, Kate is good looking. And she's strong and smart and independent. You two do flirt quite a bit…"

"You understand that while I would like to one day find someone to settle down with, right now a relationship is not ideal for me. Not while…"

"Everyone else manages," James groaned. "C'mon, Ji. You're really not getting any younger. Just give the woman a flower, compliment her hair, her clothes, or her eyes and BAM, she's guaranteed to agree to date you."

"In case you've forgotten…"

"In case you've forgotten, that woman's been batting her pretty little eyelashes at you since she moved into this town. Hell, she only moved here to be with you. C'mon, Ji, is it really that hard to ask her on a date?"

"I have other priorities."

James took in a deep sighed, "Alright, Ji… Jiseph, I didn't want to have to do this."

"Jiseph?"

"You left me with no other choice."

"Oh boy."

"I will clean the house, cook the meals, and keep these Samurai in check for a month if you man up and asked the pretty lady on a date."

"Cook, clean, and babysit? For a month?"

"For a month," James held out his hand to shake on it, "C'mon, Jiseph, you've got to take this deal."

Ji shook James' hand, "I guess this is an offer I can't refuse."

-Samurai-

Antonio clutched the Samuraizer tightly in his hand, "Bad things happen when we split up."

"We're a group of three, you big baby," Mia rolled her eyes and looked to Kate who was sharing an equally annoyed look. They understood splitting up wasn't the greatest idea, but there was so much forest and only so little of it could be covered if they stuck together. Assuming the werewolf Nighlok monster was still on Earth, they figured he would hide in the woods. Where exactly was hard to determine, but easier if they covered more ground. While Kevin, Mike, Serena, and Jayden had gone deep, deep into the woods, Mia, Antonio, and Kate stayed closer to the house, keeping their eyes peeled for anything suspicious.

As Antonio and Mia bickered about the dangers of splitting up, Kate thought she heard something unusual and ventured slightly off path. It sounded like something panting, but not something big like a werewolf. It was something small. Pushing leaves and branches out of her way, she stepped deeper into the forest and to her surprise and relief she found Storm. The dog wasn't in a good way at all, having fallen to her side and panting very, very loudly, with a look of pure pain on her face, but she was alive.

"Mia! Antonio!" Kate called them over and she could see Storm's eyes looking at her, trying to examine her. She had spent a little bit of time around the dog, but not enough to be considered a friend. Given Storm was likely very scared and very sick, Kate thought it best if one of the Samurai approached her.

Mia and Antonio were immediately by her side, and as soon as Mia saw the sick dog she fell to her knees and scooped her up in her arms, "Emily's going to be so happy when she sees you."

"Not in this condition," Antonio said, "We can tell her we found her, but she looks like she needs a doctor."

Mia cradled the dog in her arms, "You'll be okay."

Antonio called Jayden to let him and the others know they had found the dog and wanted to take her to the vet. While he did that, Mia and Kate tried to make Storm comfortable. Kate had taken the dog in her arms so Mia could use her symbol power to make a blanket. Storm started to cry when she left the safety of Mia's arms, and even though Mia stayed very close, and Kate worked hard to sooth the dog, Storm's cries started to turn into growls.

Antonio had his back turned to the girls as he made his call, and when it was over he tucked his Samurai Morpher away and turned around just in time to see the transformation. Storm's growls grew louder and louder as her body got bigger. Her long and sharp teeth were longer and sharper and her claws grew out as well. Up on her hind legs, Storm now stood taller than Antonio.

"There is a werewolf," Mia whispered as she backed away from Storm, pulling Kate back with her. From where he was standing, Antonio fumbled to get his Samurai Morpher.

Storm, the werewolf, growled ferociously and swung her arm at Mia and Kate. Her claws only just missed the two of them as they jumped back and started to run. Antonio's eyes grew wide. If they weren't prey before, they certainly were now, and there was no outrunning a werewolf. Soon they would be caught, and in this state it looked like all of Storm's training not to be aggressive was thrown out the window.

He didn't want to do this to Storm, but it looked like he had no choice, "Samurai Morpher! Gold power!"

Jumping into action, and running as fast as he possibly could, he caught up to Storm just as she was about to lay her claws in Kate. He stopped her overgrown paw with his sword and pushed the werewolf back. His advantage only lasted for a moment as Storm turned her attention to him. She reached out, wrapped her paw around Antonio's neck and lifted him off the ground. His Samurai suit could do a lot to protect him, but if someone was strangling him, he couldn't breathe.

To make matters worse, Storm had two arms. While one held Antonio up, the other sliced at him. The first attack was enough to make him power down, the second earned Antonio four long, deep gashes across the chest. The third never came. Before she could swipe at him, she was shot in the chest by one of Kevin's arrows. It didn't pierce through her chest, but it was strong enough for her to drop Antonio and stagger back, and it left a few superficial marks in her skin.

But what seemed to hurt her most was the water. When it splashed her, Storm cried out very loudly in pain, dropped on all fours and then ran away.

"Antonio!" Jayden cried, seeing his boyfriend on the ground covered in blood. As he ran to tend to him, Kevin, Mike, and Serena went to check on Mia and Kate.

"We're fine," Mia promised as Kevin inspected a very small scratch on her back. When Storm had caught up to her and Kate, she had tried to swipe at them and just barely managed to nick Mia's skin before Kate tripped over a root, forcing Mia to fall with her.

"What about Storm?" Mike asked and looked around, "You said you found Storm."

"You're not going to believe this," Kate said. "Storm is the werewolf."


	4. Just A Dog

Ji and Jayden both worked on Antonio, stitching up his wounds quickly before he lost too much blood. Antonio had been in unbearable pain, and his cries had let the world know it, so Ji had given him some powerful painkillers that knocked him out almost as soon as they entered his system. Assuming Ji and Jayden would be locked away with Antonio for a while, the others started their conversation without them.

"Storm?" Serena asked with a shake of her head. This was a crazy night. "You think Storm is the werewolf?"

"We know Storm is the werewolf," Mia said. "We saw her turn into it. I have no idea what happened, but the monster that attacked Emily and Antonio is Storm."

Mia wasn't known for making up stories, but this time Serena needed to double check the pink Ranger's facts and turned to Kate. She was sad to see the older woman nodding in agreement with Mia.

"She transformed right in my arms."

"So what do we do?" Mike asked and turned his gaze over to Kevin. With Jayden caring for Antonio, Kevin had to step up as leader. Kevin sighed loudly. These were the times where he hated being the leader. There was no good call to make. Storm was obviously a danger. He had seen the size of the werewolf she could turn into and knew her strength. With the added bonus of being the house pet all the Rangers were emotionally attached to, Storm had the power to take out the entire team without breaking a sweat, and she needed to be put down.

But she was Storm. She was their Storm, their little furry friend. In spite of all the trouble she caused around the house, and the attitude she sometimes gave the Rangers she was one of them. For Kevin, destroying her would be like destroying one of the Samurai.

"You said the water hurt her," James spoke up, putting the pieces together of what happened in his mind very slowly so he knew he got all the details. While he hadn't been there and hadn't seen what happened, the others had filled him in. Without the immediate danger and because he wasn't in the moment, he was sure he could see the picture a little better than they could. "Water doesn't hurt werewolves. Holy water hurts vampires."

"She can also trigger the Gap Sensor," Kate brought up, "Only Nighlok trigger the Gap Sensor. If she was really just a werewolf, she would pass unnoticed."

"Maybe it's like when the spider bit Mike," Mia said and looked to the green Ranger, "It turned you into a were-spider."

"You think a Nighlok wolf bit Storm?" Serena frowned. Mike shook his head.

"She would have had a bite mark. If a wolf bit Storm, we would have known about it. Something else happened."

"Something must have," Serena nodded, "I refuse to believe we managed to pick the one dog in the entire shelter that was a werewolf."

"I think you guys are missing something big," James said, "Kevin's water hurt her!"

"So. Our water always has that effect on Nighlok," Mia shrugged her shoulders, "It's like if we decided to take a bath in Sanzu… water…" Mia trailed off slowly as the thought hit her. James gave her a knowing look and then turned to the rest of the team. Serena quickly jumped on the map, remembering an important detail that, until just now, she had pushed to the back of her mind.

"When we left, pools surfaced everywhere," she said as the map revealed the location of many pools of Sanzu Water around the forest, "Trust me when I say being poisoned hurts like hell. That might be why Storm was sick," she turned her focus to Mike who nodded his head. It was very weird how Storm had gotten so sick, so quickly, without anyone noticing.

"But how would she get poisoned?" Mike asked. "Unless she's on a leash, she doesn't leave the yard…"

"She got out a couple of days ago," Jayden whispered as he walked into the room. His hands were still covered in blood and his face was puffy and stained with tears. He was obviously still upset over Antonio, but he had come to see if the Rangers had figured out what had happened. "I noticed the door and the gate was open and she wasn't around. I found her in the woods acting a little strange. I just thought she was lost and scared."

"There's the chance for exposure," Kate said, "So how do we flush Sanzu Water out of Storm?"

"Quickly," Serena muttered. "It's powering her up now, but it's probably killing her on the inside. Kevin…"

"I'm on it," Kevin nodded and grabbed his Samuraizer. Trying to bring a werewolf to water would be difficult, so the best thing the Samurai could do was bring the water to her. Kevin, with his Symbol Power, had an almost unlimited supply of water. He was sure he could get enough water into Storm's system to flush out the water. It wouldn't be easy, and if Storm remembered any of this once she was back to normal she would likely hate him for the rest of her life, but it had to be done. Mia, Serena and Mike got up to follow Kevin. Though he was the only one who could save Storm, they wouldn't let him go off on his own.

"No!" they suddenly heard Emily cry just as they were about to leave the house. They hadn't known she had been just around the corner, listening to their entire conversation. Now that Emily knew the werewolf was real, and that it was Storm, she couldn't let her friends go after it. She knew they cared about Storm, but if the water had already hurt her dog once, she couldn't let them hurt her again. The Sanzu Water was in her system and to get it out they would have to get the water in her system. That wasn't as simple as showering her in water or pushing her into a pool. They would have to hold her down and force her to drink the water, and lots of it. It sounded like torture and Emily couldn't let them do it.

Emily reached the door before they did and slammed and locked it shut. Then she stood in the way, with her arms over her chest, "You're not hurting Storm!"

"Emily, we don't want to, but if you want her back…"

"NO!" Emily screamed, "You have to find another way! I'm not letting you drown her! I'm not letting you hurt her! She's scared!"

"She didn't look very scared when she was ripping Antonio apart," Mia muttered and earned herself a powerful shove from Emily. Mike grabbed the yellow Ranger while Kevin helped the pink Ranger back up to her feet.

"Emily, you need to calm down," Mike told her as he held her up by the waist, keeping her feet off the ground so she had no leverage to pull away from him. "It's going to hurt Storm, but we have to do it. You don't have to watch any of it. You can stay here with Mentor, Kate, Jayden, and James."

Mike carried Emily back into the common room and put her in James' arms, certain that if he set her down, even for just a second, she would run out of the house to get to Storm before anyone else. When James had a good hold on her, Mike gave Emily a quick kiss on the cheek, promised Storm would be back to normal next time she saw her, and then ran out of the house with the others.

"She hit her head," Mia reminded both Mike and Serena once they were out of the house and she saw they were upset by Emily's outburst. Mia also felt guilty, but she knew what had to be done. "She's not thinking clearly."

"She was right about the werewolf," Mike muttered.

"We'll do this as painlessly as possible," Kevin assured the three, "but it's our safety first. Storm's family, but at the end of the day, she's just the dog."

"Then if we do lose her," Serena gave Kevin a pat on the back, "You're telling Emily."

"Alone," Mike nodded.

Mia wrapped her arms around Kevin, "For your sake, I hope we know what we're doing."


	5. Taming The Beast

James couldn't say Emily throwing a fit was new territory to him. The girl was small and bubbly, but when she thought she needed to fight, she had the power to fight hard. He had seen her attacking Howie and he knew she came out of that fight the victor, and since then she had only gotten stronger.

However, dealing with this by himself wasn't something he ever thought he would have to handle. Serena, Mike, and Mia had all gone out, leaving him alone to manage Emily in possibly one of the worst fights she had ever put up. Not only was the injury to her head making things a thousand times worse, but the fact that the Rangers had gone out to try and save her dog by torturing it back to life really fueled her rage. Though she kept screaming at him, Jayden, and Kate that there had to be another way, James couldn't see it. No one could see it. Storm was a wild beast, and the Rangers needed to do whatever they could to tame her. They would try to bring her back, Mike had promised he would, but the truth was that it wasn't a guarantee.

Jayden and Kate had taken it to themselves to guard the exits while James set Emily down and tried to calm her without holding her in his arms. Ji had already rushed in to see what all the screaming was about, but had been reassured by Kate that things with Emily were under control and Antonio needed him more.

James thought that was a lie. Not necessarily the part about Antonio. He did need Ji's attention, but Emily certainly wasn't under control. Grabbing her by the arms, he looked her in the eyes, hoping he seemed calm enough to settle her.

"You need to breathe, Emily. You're still hurt and…"

"I don't care!" Emily tried to shove him away, "They want to hurt Storm! They're going to hurt her! I have to stop them."

"They know what they're doing, Emily," Kate chimed in, hoping maybe she could say something to calm the yellow Ranger, "Storm is vicious right now…"

"She's scared!"

"Emily, she attacked you and Antonio," Jayden said. "Antonio could have died! We need to deal with this before anyone else gets hurt."

"I won't let you hurt Storm!" Emily tried to run to the door but Kate grabbed her, lifted her up, and set her down on her stool. As soon as her butt touched cushion, Emily jumped back up to her feet and tried to run away again. Kate couldn't grab her fast enough, but James saw this coming and got in her way. Emily couldn't stop and ran right into James' arms. She kicked and punched as he lifted her over his shoulder and held her there.

"OW!" he cried as she bit his back and wouldn't let go until he set her down. James tried to tolerate the pain but knew sooner or later he would give up, and it would be long before she could. Looking to Jayden and Kate to make sure they were ready, he set her down. As expected, Emily tried to run again. Jayden had his Samuraizer out and hoped trapping her with Symbol Power would work, but she evaded his attack, slipped right past Kate and made it right out the door.

"Dammit…" James muttered as he watched her leave from the window. He looked to Jayden, "I'm scared of dogs, there's no way I'll be any help to anyone if I meet up with Storm."

Jayden knew James was asking him to go after Emily with Kate. He glanced down the hallway, where Ji was still treating a very injured Antonio, "But…"

"I'll call you the second before anything happens," James swore to the red Ranger, "Please."

"C'mon, Jayden. The other Rangers need as many Samurai as they can get to wrestle with the werewolf," Kate waved him over "Ji's not going to let anything happen to Antonio."

Jayden nodded his head. Antonio was in the best hands. Now he needed to make sure the rest of his team was safe. With Kate, he ran out of the house and into the forest. Emily had a head start, but Jayden and Kate would catch up to her in no time; especially when she kept giving herself away by calling Storm's name. As her voice got louder and louder, and Jayden knew he was getting closer, he pulled out his Samuraizer once more. This time he wouldn't miss.

Seeing Emily among the trees, Jayden held his arm out to stop Kate and they ducked behind a leafy bush. Jayden wanted to trap Emily and take her back home so she wouldn't screw up the plans the others had come up with. As she searched for her beloved dog, completely unaware she had been followed from the moment she left the yard, Jayden traced a symbol and shot it at her.

Thick red bands wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her sides, her wrists together and binding her knees and ankles. Seeing she was completely trapped and unable to put up a fight any longer, Jayden knew all he and Kate had to do was get her home. As soon as they stepped out of the bush, though, they heard a growl. Jayden was suddenly pulled to the ground by Kate as a large beast leaped over them and ran right for Emily. When Jayden and Kate both looked up, they saw it was Storm, who would take advantage of Emily's situation to finish the job she started at the house.

Jayden and Kate jumped to their feet and Jayden threw a rock at the dog. It wasn't advisable, but he had to take Storm's attention away from Emily somehow.

"Don't hurt her!" Emily screamed and struggled to break her bonds.

"I'm not trying to hurt her," Jayden told her as he and Kate backed away from the angry Storm, "I'm trying to save you."

"Go away!" Emily shouted as she managed to sit up. She looked to her dog, "Storm, it's okay. You're sick, I know. We're going to make you better."

Hearing Emily's voice, Storm turned back around. She dropped down on all fours and approached Emily. Her teeth were bared, her ears were flat against her head and she was ready to strike. She growled, very loudly, but between growls, Emily could hear a whimper. Storm was crying. Emily knew her dog well; she knew Storm was very hurt and very scared.

"Storm, I won't let them hurt you, I promise," Emily said as Storm got closer, reached out, and grabbed her neck. She wasn't squeezing just yet, so Emily could breathe, but even Emily knew this wasn't good. She looked at Storm, begging for her dog to see sense soon, "I know you're in there."

"Help her," Kate pushed Jayden forward, feeling her stomach bubbling in anxiety as she watched a werewolf take full control of her little yellow Ranger. Jayden nodded his head and traced another symbol to undo Emily's bonds. Now, at the very least, she could defend herself if Storm chose to take the attack further.

But Emily must have taken a harder hit than anyone thought. Now free and able to fight back, Jayden thought Emily would have tried to get out of Storm's grip. Instead she just grabbed the dog's arm, stroking it gently. Storm didn't like this. She didn't like the humans touching her and threw Emily. Then, as if playing a game of fetch with herself, she chased after the yellow Ranger. Emily barely had time to hit the ground before Storm was on top of her again, ready to take her in her mouth and chew her up.

"Hydro Bow!"

Blue water arrows shot out from the trees just before Storm's teeth could break through Emily's skin. The water arrow hit Storm. Again, they didn't pierce her chest, but they left their mark, tearing her skin and showering her Sanzu polluted body in fresh water. Storm cried out loudly in pain, dropped back on all fours and tried to run, but she was hit again by another shower of arrows. Storm fell to the ground and curled up. Her growls were loud, but she was obviously scared.

Looking up, Emily saw Kevin, Serena, Mike, and Mia. They were all morphed and they all had their swords in their hands except for Kevin. He held his bow, and was switching out one disk for another. Emily had never really taken the time to learn how Kevin's personal weapon worked, or what the different disks were used for when powering up his hydro bow but she knew what he wanted to do to her dog and she wouldn't allow it. She got up, ran over to Storm and then dropped down beside her. She wrapped her arms around the dogs and whispered soothing words. Though Storm's body was massive, and there was no way Emily could protect her completely, Kevin had to lower his bow. Odds were great that he would hit her as well.

"Emily, move," he told her. Emily shook her head and continued to whisper to her dog. Storm was still scared, but the longer Kevin waited for an attack the more time she had to recover. Kevin could hear her growls getting louder and louder, and he could tell by her body language that she was ready to attack.

"Emily, I'm sorry," Mike called and thought maybe he could talk some sense into her, "We have to do this. It's going to hurt, but it's for the best! Please move."

"No," Emily hugged Storm a little tighter, trying to pull her in as close as she could to cover her up.

Serena sighed loudly and nudged Kevin, "Just do it."

"Are you sure?" Kevin asked. The white Ranger nodded her head.

"Emily will be fine if you aim it right. One or two arrows won't hurt her too much. They'll hurt her less than Storm will if you hesitate. Do it."

Kevin gulped and turned to Mike. The green Ranger nodded his head sadly. He had to agree with Serena this time. He knew Emily wasn't going to move, and he also knew Storm wasn't going to wait much longer before she attacked again. Kevin then turned to Mia.

"You can't hesitate."

Kevin lifted his bow and aimed as far away from Emily as he could, while still keeping the target on Storm. This wouldn't work to get the Sanzu Water out of Storm's system, but it would weaken her enough so the Samurai could get that process done.

Emily watched in terror as Kevin aimed his shot at Storm. She hugged her dog even closer, "I won't let them hurt you."

Storm was trapped in Emily's hug, but wasn't fighting hard to get out. In Emily's arms she could smell something familiar, something very comforting. It made her feel safe.

She remembered the last time she had been this scared and had needed to feel safe. She had been taken from her home and brought to another one, with plenty of strange new human faces and no other dogs around. Then, when it got dark, a storm hit her new home. Lightning lit up the room as she tried to sleep and a booming thunder terrified her like never before. All alone in a new house full of strangers, she wasn't sure she would survive the night.

Then, one of the strangers pulled her out from where she had gone to hide, and held her tight, keeping her safe until the storm passed.

Kevin reluctantly fired his bow and a shower of them flew towards Storm and Emily. Emily promised Storm she would protect her, but it was Storm who jumped up and covered Emily by throwing her body on top of her. Then she grabbed the yellow Ranger in her arms and ran away with her, staggering slightly from the attack.

"Dammit!" Kevin cried in frustration and threw down his Hydro Bow. He had missed. He had aimed away from Emily, so Storm covering her resulted in her taking less of the attack than she needed to be weakened and she was able to get away _with_ Emily.

"On the hunt again," Mia announced as everyone bolted after Storm.

-Samurai-

Storm carried Emily back home, remembering exactly where the house was. Before she reached the shields, she set the yellow Ranger down and looked to her sadly. Emily took her paw and then pull out her Samuraizer.

"I promised you'll be okay," she said and traced a symbol into the shield, opening it up slightly. She gestured for the dog to get inside, "You'll be safe. I'll keep it open until you're back to normal."

Trusting Emily, Storm walked inside and the yellow Ranger followed her in after covering up the hole as much as she could while still leaving it open so she shield wouldn't repel Storm again. Emily didn't want _another_ monster getting into the house. Storm dropped down on all fours and with Emily walked into the house.

When James saw Emily was back he was very glad at first, especially when it seemed she was coming home willingly. Then he saw she had brought the werewolf home with her and fainted. Emily paid no attention to him and ran to Jayden and Antonio's room. She pounded on the door and kept her eyes on her dog. Ji opened it and Emily grabbed him and pulled him into the common room. Ji was shocked to see Storm sitting and waiting patiently.

"Emily…"

"You have to fix her," Emily begged the older man. Ji couldn't argue with her. Storm definitely needed help, and if she was in the Shiba House, she would need it quickly. As far as Ji was concerned, she was still very wild. Though Emily had her under control now, that would only last for so long.

"I might still remember the antidote I used on Mike," he said. "It should flush the poison from her system."

"Hurry," Emily told him and then sat down beside Storm. The dog lay down and put her head in Emily's lap. Normally, Storm's entire body could fit on Emily's lap. Like her mistress, she was small. But in this form, Storm's head was barely small enough to rest comfortably.

But Emily stroking the back of her head and neck was all the comfort she needed. When Ji came back with a needle and an IV, Emily's stroking kept Storm calm.

"You're going to be okay," Emily whispered as Ji gently put the needle into Storm's paw and let the serum into her veins.

Assuming the others had no idea where Emily was, once the IV was safely inserted and secured and Storm was asleep, Ji called them all back home.

Just as they walked through the door, Storm began to shrink out of her werewolf body and back into her normal dog body. Emily hugged her close to her chest, making sure not to hurt her paw with the IV.

Mike walked into the common room, saw Storm was back to normal and sighed, very thankful things hadn't taken a turn for the worst. Emily heard the others were home and looked up at them.

"I told you there was another way."

Mike approached Emily and dropped to his knees before her. He looked her in the eyes and pulled her and Storm into his arms.

"I'm sorry."

"She's still hurt," Emily whispered when she pulled away from Mike and showed him the cuts and scratches on Storm's body from the arrows Kevin had shot.

"You know we didn't want to hurt her, Em," Mike told her. Emily sighed and hugged Storm again.

"I'm just glad she's going to be okay."


	6. Secrets And Mommies

As Antonio came to, he could feel an agonizing pain all along the front of his body. He tried to sit up, hoping to see what was causing him so much pain, but a pair of hands gently pushed him back down. Looking up, he saw the hands belonged to Jayden.

"What happened?"

"You got into a fight with a werewolf and lost," Jayden took Antonio's hand softly and sighed, "How are you feeling?"

"I guess like I got into a fight with a werewolf and lost," Antonio muttered as the events leading up to his pain came back to him, "Storm…"

"She's feeling better, though she's in a very similar state," Jayden said. "Poor dog took a bit of a beating."

"So what's my prognosis look like?" Antonio looked down, trying to see his chest.

"You'll be laid up for a few days, but you will be back to full form soon. If you rest."

Antonio pat the spot on the bed next to him, "If you stay here I can rest a bit better."

Jayden didn't need to be told twice. He climbed into the bed and lay next to Antonio, pulling him in as close as he could without upsetting the stitching along his chest.

"Next time you're going to fight a werewolf, don't" Jayden whispered and smirked, "You came so close to not making it."

"Tell the girls not to run away from a wolf," Antonio grumbled and reached up to touch his chest. He could feel the bandages wrapped all along the front of his body. Jayden had promised a quick recovery, but he would be feeling this for weeks. And if prediction about the Nighlok's return were right, it was very likely Antonio would have to sit out the first few fights. He chewed his lip nervously as he tried to imagine sitting on the sidelines while his friends and his boyfriend ran into battle, putting their lives at risk. He turned to Jayden, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"If the roles were reversed, you would be in the dojo already," Antonio said. "I can barely breathe."

"I guess I just have more of a reason to get back up," Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Though you do need the rest. You really should take it easy."

"How do you have more of a reason to get back up?" Antonio asked. "I mean, sure, you're the red guy, but we're all Rangers."

"If one of you sits out a fight or two it's fine," Jayden answered and looked out the window, "If I sit out, and let you guys go out there alone…"

"Jay…"

"Antonio, it's a big deal to me. It's important to me. Don't tell me I'm just as important as the rest of you."

Antonio let out a heavy sigh. This had been something Jayden had struggled with for a while. He certainly had no issues with confidence unless it concerned his team. Despite having known the red Ranger for years and years, and despite being his best friend and his boyfriend, and despite Jayden opening himself up to Antonio time and time again, there was still one secret Antonio couldn't get out of the red Ranger, and it seemed to be a very, very heavy one.

"Talk to me, Jay. You know I won't judge you. Why do you feel this way?"

Jayden shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't meant to turn Antonio's recovery time into something so personal, nor did he feel ready to spill his secret yet. Antonio decided then and there he wouldn't take no for an answer. He started to lift himself out of bed.

"Antonio, you need to…"

"You're the leader. You set the example," Antonio said. "If you can get up and go back to training, I should be able to too."

"Antonio…"

"Look, Jayden, I hate to say it, but there's really nothing special about you. So you were the red suit? So your family's been the leader of the Samurai Rangers for years and years. You're still just a human being. Without us, without this team, you would be nothing."

"I know that, Antonio."

"You'd be dead without us," Antonio said. He reached out and took Jayden's hands gently, "I say this because I care, Jayden. You owe us all big time."

Jayden started to sulk. He pulled his hands away from Antonio and got up from the bed, "You should rest."

"Jay, please," Antonio was begging for him not to leave yet. He wanted to get out of bed, but his body refused to let him do anything more than sit up. "If it helps, I don't like this either. The thought of missing a few fights, watching you all face danger while I sit back and do nothing scares me too. I never want to see any of you guys get hurt. I never want to see you get hurt. If I could, I would seal Xandred away with the Sealing Symbol myself, so you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Antonio…"

"Please, Jay. I've never judged you before. Not once."

Jayden took in a deep breath. Antonio would find out eventually.

"You have to swear you won't say a word to anyone else."

"I just want you to be able to share whatever it is that's been bothering you for this long," Antonio nodded. "I'm your boyfriend _and_ your best friend. We should share stuff like this."

Jayden sat down on the bed, "Antonio, what I'm about to say doesn't change how I feel about you. Everything between us is very, very real."

Antonio was suddenly starting to regret this, "Uh… okay?"

-Samurai-

Just like how Jayden was tending to Antonio, Emily sat with Storm. The dog was laying in her dog bed on Mike and Emily's bed, sleeping soundly while the IV continued to drip antidote into her body to flush out the Sanzu Water. As far as Emily was concerned, everything was working perfectly. All she needed to do was wait for the procedure to be complete and for Storm to wake up. In the meantime, she was perfectly happy sitting with her dog and stroking her head.

A gentle knock on the door reminded her she wasn't alone. She looked up to see who it was and saw Mike walking into the room with a full backpack. She had no idea what he had in the bag, but assumed he was coming in just to show her.

"How's our little fluff ball?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "She's okay."

"And how are you? How's your head?"

"Fine."

Mike gently set the bag down on his desk and sighed. Though Emily insisted she only cared about Storm's recovery, there was an obvious chill coming from her. When Emily insisted there was a more humane way of bringing Storm back, everyone had shot her down saying their only option was to torture the poor dog. Not only had they been proven wrong, but they actually had hurt Storm. On top of the IV, Ji had also had to care for Storm by cleaning up some cuts and bandaging those. While they had been spread out on her big werewolf body, her Shiba body was a lot more compact and the scars from her fight against the Rangers were everywhere she had fur. The only part of her that wasn't covered in some way by the white and yellow bandages was her head.

"Emily, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine."

"Yeah, I got that chain email," Mike chuckled, "When a woman says fine, things are never fine," he sat down on the bed and very lightly put his hand on Storm's back, "I didn't want to hurt her, you know that, right?"

"Yeah."

"You've just got a bigger heart than the rest of us. And you care for her a lot more than the rest of us. You saw something we didn't. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you a little more. I should have backed you up."

"It's okay," Emily insisted. "You know more about werewolves than I do…"

"Yeah, but you know Storm better than I do," Mike pulled Emily into his arms and kissed her cheek. She leaned back into him, still stroking Storm's head. "I should have known she was in there somewhere. We should have tried your way first."

"You can't change what happened."

"Emily, please stop," Mike tried to turn her around but she wouldn't let him. She wouldn't even look at him anymore. That was enough to let him know there was something really wrong, "I'm sorry, Emily…"

"I promised her she wouldn't have to get involved in all this Nighlok stuff," Emily whispered. "If I knew anything close to this would happen to her, I never would have adopted her. Some other family could have taken her and kept her safe. She almost died, just like Scruffy…"

"Em, your dog jumped in front of a barrage of arrows to protect you and suppressed the wild, killing beast that was trying to come out just to keep you safe. How many dogs would do that for their owners?"

"No dog should have to do that…"

"Well then Storm could have easily thrown you to the wolves, no pun intended. She could have used you as a shield against Kevin's attack and then left you for dead while she lived out the rest of her days in the wide open world. You're amazing to her, and she knows it."

"Yeah, but…"

"You remember when I died?"

"Are you trying to make me cry?"

"I told you I saw Scruffy."

"I'm crying, Mike."

"Scruffy told me to keep his sister away from his toys," Mike kissed Emily's cheek, "Scruffy sees us as a family."

"Get out, please…"

Mike shook his head and chuckled, "I'd bet anything Storm would choose this life over a life with any other family. Even with all the dangers and drama, and all the crazy humans, she wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here. You know, sometimes, when you're not in the house, she sits by the window and cries? And then you come home and there's a smile on her face that no one else can get her to smile. She's happy here. She's happy with you. You're her mommy."

Emily gently lifted her dog into her arms, "I don't want anything to happen to her. Losing Scruffy hurt enough."

"I know," Mike nodded. "And you know, killing her would have been last resort, right? We all wanted her to come back home."

"Yeah."

Mike smiled, gave his wife a kiss, and continued to hold her. He looked over her shoulder at Storm, who was still sound asleep, but seemed to know she was sleeping in Emily's arms because her smile was just a little bigger now than it was when she was on the bed.

"You know what I've always thought," Mike smirked, "That babies can actually talk to and understand pets, and as they grow up, they lose that ability."

"Serena does have stories about me babbling to the goats," Emily giggled.

"You know how sometimes we put Terran down on the mat, and Storm makes her way over and starts sniffing him. And then she starts to kind of push him around?"

"She's just curious. She's never seen a human as small as her before."

"Maybe," Mike shrugged, "but I think she's rubbing it in. I think she's saying, 'my mommy is better than yours'."

"I'm not better than Serena," Emily shook her head. "Serena's got a real baby, and she helped mom and dad take care of me. She knows what she's doing…"

"Barely."

"She knows more than I do."

"Barely. By the time our little terror comes around, you're going to be so experienced. Between taking care of Storm and being Auntie to Terran, you're going to know what the terror needs before he or she starts crying."

"Terror?"

"Em, the kid will be a combination of the two of us."

Emily's eyes lit up, "When Serena babysits, can we install a nanny cam?"

"Don't trust her with littler terror?"

"No, I trust her," Emily giggled, "I just want to see her suffer."

Mike chuckled and gave Emily a little squeeze, "I love you, Emily."


End file.
